Before I get started this week, I feel I have to warn you. I am going to be discussing a movie (Repo Men), if you have not seen this movie this is your warning, there will be spoilers. If you have not seen the film, and don't want it spoiled for you, skip this chapter until you have.
So, one night my wife and I found ourselves in that increasingly rare place where we have time on our hands and nothing to do. Having just acquired a new TV, we figured a movie night was in order. I buzzed over to the local Redbox and picked up a movie called Repo Men. In all honesty I was thinking of picking up a romantic comedy for my wife, but sadly they were all out (dodged that bullet).
A future chapter will have to be on the subject of people who digest entertainment, not because they wish to be surprised by it, but because they crave a certain emotional response. And I'll go ahead and include the template for every romantic comedy ever made, so if you're interested then you can write your own romantic comedy. But that is for another place and time.
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yes, Repo Men. The movie is based on a book called, The Repossession Mambo. I have never read the book, so I won't pass judgment. However I will attest that the movie was total tripe. Not because the acting was bad (it wasn't), or the effects weren't good (they were). It was because the story was terrible, inconsistent, and felt weak. To top it off, they threw a massive Red Herring into it at the end.
Before we go on, remember that everyone is a critic, (especially me) and a Red Herring is an effort by the story teller to divert your attention from what is really going on.
The story is basically summed up as this; a pair of ex-military buddies work together repossessing man-made organs if the organ recipients can't make their payments. Obviously removing someones heart/lung/kidney is deadly, so they struggle with justifying whether it is murder or not. During a repo, one night, one of them is injured, and is forced to get a transplanted heart in order to live. After the surgery, he suddenly develops a conscience, and can't bring himself to repossess any more organs. This leaves him with no paycheck, and before you know it, the shoe is on the other foot, and he is now being hunted by repo men.
He befriends a woman, who is also unable to pay for her organs, and they fall in love. They realize how futile it is to keep running so they decide to take down the whole organ donor structure so they can go on living like normal.
His best friend is forced to hunt him, they face each other, he defeats the friend, then kills a bunch of people and brings down the entire network. Case closed, that's a wrap... But wait, there's more!
While he is fighting his friend he is knocked out by his best friend and is saved by his new girlfriend. This turns out to be where the Red Herring takes place. Apparently when his best friend knocks him out, he causes irreparable brain damage, and leaves him mostly dead. His best friend pays to have him hooked up to a neural dreamworld where he can live out the rest of his comatose life in paradise, and the whole movie from the knock out onward is his dream.
Now I enjoy a good Red Herring as much as the next guy. But they have to be in good taste, and more-so than that, they have to further or accent the plot.. I don't really feel Repo Men accomplished any of this, in my opinion it only weakened an already malnourished plot.
Here's what turned me off about this storyline. For starters I actually think the premise of repossessing organs is a good one. That is the good idea I like to talk about, the one that makes the story. I however refuse to believe that a society that has continued to advance itself forward enough to develop the ability to make organs would suffer some sort of breakdown in workers comp. So I don't think he would have been forced to pay for his new heart out of pocket.
The second beef I took with this flick had to do with the whole Red Herring. As I said earlier I think it needs to accent the plot, not crush you like a falling piano. It has to have the ability to make the story better. I think the story line was at it's best when it was focusing on two people's struggle against a corrupt and vicious system. It is an honorable battle to fight against injustice, but making it all out to be a dream cheapens that victory.
On a final note, the whole neurological network he was hooked up to was only mentioned once during the movie, it was during a brief conversation and was not talked about for the rest of the film (that I remember at least). I think if you're going to take someone down that road, than at the very least, leave some crumbs along the roadside for the people to snack on.
This was just a rant that has been on my mind since I saw this film. You should see it for yourself, if you haven't already that is. And then let me know what you think of it.
I think next week I'll talk about my personal definition of a good red herring and see what people have to say about that.
As always, thanks for reading.
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